Miami coach Al Golden has agreed to talk about the opening at Penn State because "it would be coming home," according to a report from ESPN.com's Joe Schad. A prior ESPN report had confirmed that Golden, Vanderbilt's James Franklin and current Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak were Penn State's top targets.

The job was vacated when Bill O'Brien agreed to become head coach of the NFL's Houston Texans.

Golden is a former Penn State player who has spent the last three seasons at Miami. He has unique experience navigating the Hurricanes through NCAA sanctions of their own, with improvement in each of Golden's three campaigns. Miami went 9-4 this season and lost to Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Prior to Miami, Golden spent five seasons building a Temple program that was previously in shambles. The Owls went 1-11 in Golden's first season and hadn't posted a winning record since the 1990 season. Golden had a 27-34 record overall at Temple, but went 17-8 in his final two seasons.

Golden has Penn State ties as a tight end under former coach Joe Paterno, and he has a reputation as a quality leader and tireless worker. He could bring stability to Happy Valley, not to mention recruiting contacts in the mid-Atlantic region and talent-rich Florida.

Interestingly, as Schad points out, Golden also recruited current Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg before he ultimately chose PSU. A relationship with the Nittany Lions' blossoming star should only serve to increase his appeal to athletic director Dave Joyner and the university search committee.

The search is expected to move quickly, with just days before spring classes begin and little more than a month before national signing day. Joyner said he anticipates the process taking "a matter of days, rather than weeks" and pledged to find the next great Penn State football coach.